Oknos: L'angoisse des châtiments infernaux

In this paper I examine the character of Oknos, in order to make clear that he expresses a deep and precise emotion that rises in face of the death. After the analysis of ancient sources (from literature, iconography and linguistic), I try to show that Oknos belongs to the field of “blocking” fear, that is strictly related with mysteric initiation. In our opinion Oknos’ never-ending work should be interpreted as the failure of the initiation and the representation of the resulting impediment of the action.